Dodgers Awarded Claim On Adrian Gonzalez

4:22pm: The Dodgers are "very serious" about trading for Gonzalez and have lots of options, Yahoo's Jeff Passan reports (on Twitter).

2:51pm: There’s a growing possibility that the Red Sox will trade Gonzalez to the Dodgers, Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com reports. However, Red Sox officials told Edes they “love Adrian” and are simply exploring all ways of improving their team.

2:12pm: The Red Sox are listening to the Dodgers' trade pitch for Gonzalez, but the chances of a deal being completed are slim, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports (on Twitter).

12:52pm: The Dodgers have erased any lingering doubts about their willingness to spend big on impact MLB players. They were awarded the waiver claim on Adrian Gonzalez, the latest in a series of aggressive moves by the team's new ownership group, Bill Shaikin of the LA Times reports (on Twitter). The Dodgers and Red Sox now have until Sunday to discuss a possible trade, but August waivers are revocable, so the Red Sox can elect to hold onto Gonzalez.

Alternatively, Boston GM Ben Cherington could work out a trade involving Gonzalez or assign the San Diego native and the $130MM-plus remaining on his contract to the Dodgers. The Dodgers couldn't have won the claiming rights unless every American League team passed on Gonzalez, as well as every National League team with a worse record than Los Angeles.

Gonzalez can’t block a move to the Dodgers, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reported yesterday. However, the Red Sox would only move Gonzalez in a transformative or franchise-changing move, Ken Rosenthal reported. Boston wouldn't let him go for nothing, Jon Heyman added. Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio and ESPN.com asked a Red Sox official if Boston will trade Gonzalez to Los Angeles in the next two days and the person replied 'no' (Twitter link). If the Red Sox are willing to consider trading Gonzalez, they could wait until the offseason and engage more teams.

Gonzalez, the first overall pick in the 2000 draft, will earn $21MM per season through 2016 and obtain a raise to $21.5MM for 2017-18. The total exceeds $130MM when accounting for the remainder of Gonzalez's 2012 salary. The 30-year-old has a .300/.343/.469 batting line with 15 home runs and 37 doubles in 527 plate appearances this year. He would represent a considerable upgrade over James Loney for the Dodgers.